THE pressure is off Stephen Jones now that Jonny Wilkinson has been added to the British Lions squad.

That's the verdict of Wales team manager Alan Phillips, who believes Grand Slam hero Jones can now relax and enjoy the tour of New Zealand.

World Cup-winner Wilkinson was called up as the 45th member of the Lions squad by coach Sir Clive Woodward on Sunday after making his third straight appearance for Newcastle.

The door had been left open for the Falcons fly-half, subject to him proving his fitness following a knee injury.

Having done so, he is now on board and will be seen by many as favourite to wear the No 10 jersey in the Tests against Graham Henry's All Blacks.

But Phillips believes this expectation could actually work to the advantage of Wales fly-half Jones.

"In some ways, there's less pressure on Stephen now," he said. "He can relax a bit more and enjoy the tour.

"With Wilkinson there, all the focus will be on him and Stephen can play his own game.

"The pressure will be put on Wilkinson. People will be expecting so much of him. So it's a great opportunity for Stephen.

"Pressure and expectation does weigh on you. That's not going to be the case for Stephen now. He can just go out and relax and play.

"He has had a great season and put himself to the forefront. A lot of that is down to the fact he is playing in France and it's less structured over there.

"I think that's helped his game and opened him up a bit. Back home here, there's a bit more structure in the way we play.

"He's found a happy balance in between and hopefully he can take that form on tour with him.

"And, as I say, he is not under the pressure that Wilkinson is going to be under."

Phillips believes the two fly-half rivals are similar players, particularly in terms of their defensive commitment.

"They are both very brave," he said. "There will be no easy axis through that 10 channel with either of them there.

"Wilkinson has got a big heart. There's not a backward step in him and Stephen is a very brave boy as well."

While Wilkinson was left out of the original squad, Phillips never had any doubt he would ultimately get the call from Woodward.

"I always thought he would go," he said. "Remember he can play centre as well and you might see that out there.

"Saying that, they have got some good centres there with O'Driscoll, D'Arcy and Shanklin. The competition for places will be pretty strong."

Wherever he plays, Wilkinson is sure to be tested physically by the Kiwis, given the catalogue of injuries that have kept him out of international rugby since the World Cup final in November 2003.

Phillips said, "You can guarantee each side the Lions play will look to target their key players.

"It's never been any different. Everyone will tell you the toughest Lions tours have always been to New Zealand because there's a softening up process every week.

"It happened to Phil Bennett in 1977. There were rubbish conditions out there and they just kept coming at him.

"They will target your best players and try and put them off before the Test series.

"You've already heard the Maori coach saying that. They will definitely target Wilkinson, but he's had that all his career. It won't bother him."

Having been called up by Woodward, Wilkinson will no longer take part in either England's Churchill Cup tour of Canada or their game against the Barbarians at Twickenham on May 28.

The likelihood is he will start at 10 for the Lions in their warm-up game against Argentina at the Millennium Stadium on May 23, a fixture Jones will miss because of club commitments with Clermont Auvergne.